10/5/2014

This is perfectly stated: True equality for every human should be something liberals, conservatives, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, men, women and people from all races, backgrounds and ethnicities should support. And anyone, or group, who opposes that should never be shielded from criticism for doing so.

I’ve not been satisfied with my news sources since I moved here. I like to be able to stay abreast…or at least try to stay abreast of the news and that has been an overwhelming challenge. There is too much going on in the world to just breeze past it. It needs study. I rarely watch TV and local newspapers are not the answer. I decided to subscribe to the WSJ. Ginny Frederick passed on a copy to me last weekend and I really enjoyed it. Brit and I always liked it and the format has improved favorably over the years. So, the very day I decided to subscribe, one of my fellow inmate friends, John Zimmerman, approached me and asked if I read the WSJ. I said I was just planning on subscribing and he offered me his. So, every day after he’s finished reading the paper, he leaves it at my door, just like a real “paper boy”. I’m loving it. It fills the big news “gap” that previously existed in my life.

John’s a very nice man. I grew up with his wife and knew one of his sons and a daughter-in-law was Brit’s VA doctor for many years. Now I count John among my friends, as well as all four of his children and numerous beautiful and very talented grandchildren. Another thing: when John moved into the tall building from one of the outhouses, he was not in good health. He was on a very slippery, downhill slide…but through determination and lots of exercise, he brought himself back to the real world again. Living among us and being challenged made the difference. That’s what I love about this place. It’s all family and we do help each other. You don’t have this level of full time help and support when you live alone.

I had a wonderful dinner last night…designed just for me by me. I removed more leaves from that perfect head of bib lettuce Ally got me and wrapped them around paper thin slices of smoked ham, pepper jack cheese and slivered onions. The three rolled sandwiches looked beautiful on my place especially after I added a few of Ally’s cherry tomatoes and a small bunch of red grapes. That and a glass of red wine made it a perfect meal. That would cost you a small fortune in a five star restaurant, if you could get it. Tonight I’ll have some of Ally’s chili. It’s always delicious.

There are a few people who live here who can’t find anything nice to say about anyone or anything. We just look at them with amusement and wonder when they’ll grow up. We avoid sitting with them during meals. Fortunately, they are few in number. Today…as we were going through the salad bar, one of the grouches was grumbling that the table cloths weren’t ironed. Ironed? They’re made of material you don’t have to iron and look quite nice. I’ll admit they tend to wrinkle a bit if you don’t pull them out of the drier right away, but the kitchen staff isn’t in charge of laundry and that’s where the complaint was registered. Can you imagine? That guy has a prickly pear in his shorts and gripes about anything and everything. When I meet him in the hall and say hello, he just glares, doesn’t speak and walks by. If I had lain in bed all night long dreaming of stuff to complain about, I never would have come up with that one.

Sunday is the day I do my laundry. I did a couple small loads and am ready to go for the week. The machines aren’t top of the line, but they do a good job and are clean and available for our use…and free. There are machines on each floor, but more people live on the second floor than any other. Even at that, we all manage to get our laundry done. Some who have trouble sleeping do theirs in the middle of the night.

I haven’t signed up for the dinner trip to Solomon on the 16th and I need to do that. It’s another Travel and Taste bus trip that always has unintended consequences…like running out of gas, near misses of getting stuck on muddy roads or lasting over two hours with a busload of women who by then have long extended necessary trips to the ladies’ room. Those are always interesting trips although not always the way intended.

The annual soup supper is Friday November 24th starting at 4:30. You can eat in or carry out. The place is packed so it’s a good opportunity to say hello to people you probably haven’t seen in ages. Tyler is coming all the way from Cincinnati just for it along with his parents and Ally. I’m excited about that.